AWS API Gateway Pricing Calculator & Complete Cost Guide
Interactive AWS API Gateway pricing calculator. Compare REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs with accurate cost estimates including caching and regional pricing.
Pricing TLDR
- • Legacy Free Tier (accounts before Jul 15, 2025): 1M calls/month for 12 months + 750K WebSocket connection minutes; new accounts get up to $200 in credits then pay standard rates
- • HTTP APIs: $1.00 per million requests (first 300M), then $0.90 per million
- • REST APIs: $3.50 per million requests (first 333M), more features than HTTP
- • WebSocket APIs: $1.00 per million messages + $0.25/million connection minutes
Official pricing:
AWSAmazon API Gateway Pricing Calculator
Quick Examples:
API Type
71% cheaper than REST, best for simple serverless APIs
Monthly requests
0
100M
300M
500M
AWS Region
First-tier request rate here: $1.00/million. Each API type is priced separately by region.
Apply legacy free tier (accounts before Jul 15, 2025)
Estimated Monthly Cost
$10.00
HTTP API
$10.00
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About Amazon API Gateway
What is Amazon API Gateway?
Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service that makes it easy to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs at any scale. It acts as a front door for applications to access data, business logic, or functionality from backend services such as AWS Lambda, EC2, or any web application.
- REST APIs: Full-featured API with caching, usage plans, API keys, and request/response validation - ideal for complex scenarios
- HTTP APIs: Cost-optimized option (71% cheaper) perfect for simple serverless workloads with JWT authorization
- WebSocket APIs: Real-time two-way communication for chat applications, live dashboards, and streaming data
When to Use Amazon API Gateway
Amazon API Gateway is ideal when you need a managed API layer with built-in security, monitoring, and scaling. Choose HTTP APIs for cost-sensitive serverless projects, REST APIs when you need advanced features like caching and usage plans, or WebSocket APIs for real-time bidirectional communication.
Ideal for
- Serverless architectures with AWS Lambda backends
- Microservices requiring unified API management and authentication
- Mobile and web applications needing secure API access
- Real-time applications with WebSocket support (chat, live updates)
- APIs requiring throttling, caching, and usage analytics
- Multi-region deployments with CloudFront integration
Not ideal for
- Ultra-high throughput scenarios (10K+ requests/sec per endpoint may need optimization)
- Sub-millisecond latency requirements where direct connections are critical
- Pure GraphQL workloads (consider AWS AppSync instead)
- Internal-only APIs that don't need public exposure or advanced management
Amazon API Gateway Free Tier
12-month · legacy accounts
A 12-month allowance, only for accounts created before July 15, 2025.
1M
REST API calls / month
1M
HTTP API calls / month
Plus 1M WebSocket messages + 750K connection-minutes/mo · 12 months from signup
New accounts · since July 2025
The 1-million-calls tier applies only to accounts created before July 15, 2025, for their first 12 months. New accounts get up to $200 in credits instead, then pay per million calls ($1.00 to $3.50 depending on API type).
Watch out for
- REST APIs cost more per call than HTTP APIs after the free tier
- Caching is billed hourly by cache size, with no free allowance
- Data transfer out is charged on top of request pricing
Full service-by-service breakdown, the July 2025 changes, and the common billing traps in the AWS Free Tier reference.
Amazon API Gateway Pricing Breakdown
HTTP API Pricing
HTTP APIs are 71% cheaper than REST APIs, making them ideal for cost-sensitive serverless workloads. They offer modern features like JWT authorization and CORS configuration while maintaining simplicity. Requests are metered in 512 KB increments, so a 4.5 MB upload counts as 9 requests. Rates shown are for US East (N. Virginia).
First 300 Million
$1.00 per million
Standard rate for most workloads
- JWT authorization built-in
- CORS configuration
- Lambda and HTTP integrations
- Basic throttling
- CloudWatch metrics included
Over 300 Million
$0.90 per million
10% volume discount
- All standard features
- Automatic volume discount
- Same performance and reliability
REST API Pricing
REST APIs offer premium features like caching, usage plans, API keys, and request validation. While more expensive, they're essential when you need advanced API management capabilities. Rates shown are for US East (N. Virginia); Sydney and São Paulo charge one rate for the first 1 billion requests instead of breaking at 333 million.
First 333 Million
$3.50 per million
Base rate with full features
- API caching (additional cost)
- Usage plans and API keys
- Request/response validation
- AWS WAF integration
- Custom domain names
333M - 1 Billion
$2.80 per million
20% volume discount
- All REST API features
- Automatic tiering
1B - 20 Billion
$2.38 per million
32% volume discount
- All REST API features
- Significant cost reduction
Over 20 Billion
$1.51 per million
57% volume discount
- Maximum discount tier
- Enterprise scale pricing
WebSocket API Pricing
WebSocket APIs use dual billing: connection time and message volume. This pricing model reflects the persistent nature of WebSocket connections and the bidirectional message flow.
Connection Minutes
$0.25 per million connection minutes. Example: 1,000 concurrent users staying connected 30 minutes/day = 900K minutes/month = $0.23.
Messages (First 1B)
$1.00 per million messages sent or received. Both client-to-server and server-to-client messages count.
Messages (Over 1B)
$0.80 per million messages (20% discount). Automatic tiering for high-volume applications.
Idle Connection Costs
You pay for connection time even with no message traffic. Monitor and close idle connections to optimize costs.
Caching Costs (REST API Only)
API Gateway caching reduces backend load by storing responses. Cache charges are hourly (24/7) regardless of traffic volume. US East (N. Virginia) rates; Tokyo, Singapore, São Paulo, Hong Kong, Zurich, Milan, Cape Town and the Middle East charge more:
Cache Size
0.5 GB
Hourly Rate
$0.020
Monthly Cost
$14.60
Cache Size
1.6 GB
Hourly Rate
$0.038
Monthly Cost
$27.74
Cache Size
6.1 GB
Hourly Rate
$0.200
Monthly Cost
$146.00
Cache Size
13.5 GB
Hourly Rate
$0.250
Monthly Cost
$182.50
Cache Size
28.4 GB
Hourly Rate
$0.500
Monthly Cost
$365.00
Cache Size
58.2 GB
Hourly Rate
$1.000
Monthly Cost
$730.00
Cache Size
118 GB
Hourly Rate
$1.900
Monthly Cost
$1387.00
Cache Size
237 GB
Hourly Rate
$3.800
Monthly Cost
$2774.00
💡 Cache only makes sense when backend costs exceed caching fees. For a 6.1GB cache ($146/month), you need to save $146+ in backend processing.
Regional Pricing Differences
AWS prices REST, HTTP and WebSocket APIs separately in each region, so a region can match US East on one API type and cost more on another. First-tier rates compared with US East (N. Virginia):
- Base rates on every API type: US East (N. Virginia, Ohio) and US West (Oregon): REST $3.50, HTTP $1.00 and WebSocket $1.00 per million
- Same REST entry rate, higher HTTP and WebSocket: US West (N. California), EU Ireland, London, Paris and Stockholm, Canada, Seoul and Sydney charge $3.50 for the first REST tier but 6% to 30% more for HTTP APIs and WebSocket messages, and more on the REST volume tiers
- Higher on every API type: Frankfurt, Milan, Zurich, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cape Town, Bahrain and UAE: REST 5% to 34% above US East, HTTP 17% to 38% above. Frankfurt is $3.70 REST and $1.20 HTTP
- São Paulo: The highest HTTP rate at $1.59 per million (59% above US East), plus $4.25 per million for the first 1 billion REST requests
Response Streaming and Portals
Two REST API features with their own billing rules. Rates shown are for US East (N. Virginia).
Response Streaming (REST)
No extra fee, but each streamed response is billed as one request per 10 MB, rounded up. A 5 KB chatbot response counts as 1 request; a 65 MB video counts as 7, so 1M of them cost $24.50 in requests before data transfer.
API Gateway Portals
$125 per portal per month, including 10 PortalProducts with up to 40 ProductRestEndpoints each. Each extra PortalProduct is $12.50/month. Both charges are prorated by hours used.
Portal Example
One portal with 25 PortalProducts for a full month costs $125 + 15 x $12.50 = $312.50.
Related Service Costs
API Gateway costs are often just 20-30% of your total API infrastructure. Budget for these common related services:
- AWS Lambda (Typical: 2-3x API Gateway): $0.20 per 1M requests + $0.0000166667 per GB-second compute time
- CloudWatch Logs (+15-30%): $0.50/GB ingested. Full execution logs can double your costs - use ERROR level in production.
- AWS WAF (Security): $5/month per Web ACL + $1/month per rule + $0.60 per 1M requests. Recommended for production.
- Data Transfer Out: $0.09/GB first 10TB. Often 10-30% additional cost for response payloads.
- AWS PrivateLink (Private APIs): Private APIs have no data transfer out charges, but each interface VPC endpoint is billed by AWS PrivateLink: $0.01 per AZ-hour plus $0.01/GB processed in AWS's US East example
REST vs HTTP vs WebSocket API Comparison
Choose the right API type based on your requirements and budget. HTTP APIs offer the best cost-performance ratio for simple use cases.
Criteria
Base Price
HTTP API
$1.00/million
REST API
$3.50/million
WebSocket API
$1.00/million + connection time
Criteria
Volume Discount
HTTP API
$0.90/million after 300M
REST API
$1.51-2.80/million tiered
WebSocket API
$0.80/million after 1B
Criteria
Caching
HTTP API
Not available
REST API
Available ($14.60+/month)
WebSocket API
Not available
Criteria
Authorization
HTTP API
JWT, Lambda, IAM
REST API
JWT, Lambda, IAM, Cognito, API Keys
WebSocket API
Lambda, IAM
Criteria
Usage Plans
HTTP API
Not available
REST API
Available
WebSocket API
Not available
Criteria
Request Validation
HTTP API
Not available
REST API
Available
WebSocket API
Not available
Criteria
AWS WAF
HTTP API
Not available
REST API
Available
WebSocket API
Not available
Criteria
Best For
HTTP API
Serverless, cost-sensitive workloads
REST API
Complex APIs, enterprise features
WebSocket API
Chat, live updates, streaming
Real-World Amazon API Gateway Pricing Examples
Small Startup
$10/month
• HTTP API
• 10M requests/month
• New account: no free tier
• Lambda backend: +$3
Mobile app backend with moderate traffic
Medium SaaS
$496/month
• REST API with cache
• 100M requests/month
• 6.1GB cache: $146
• Lambda + logs: +$130
SaaS platform with steady growth
Enterprise Microservices
$1,633/month
• REST API
• 500M requests/month
• No cache
• Lambda + WAF: +$1,040
Large-scale microservices architecture
WebSocket Chat App
$62/month
• WebSocket API
• 10K users, 30 min/day
• 60M messages/month
• Lambda: +$62
Real-time chat for 10K concurrent users
11 Amazon API Gateway Cost Optimization Tips
Choose HTTP APIs over REST when possible
HTTP APIs are 71% cheaper ($1.00 vs $3.50 per million). Use them for simple serverless APIs unless you specifically need REST features like caching, usage plans, or WAF integration.
Enable caching only when justified by backend costs
API Gateway caching costs $14.60-2,774/month. Only enable if backend processing costs exceed cache fees. For a 6.1GB cache ($146/month), you need to save $146+ in Lambda/database costs.
Optimize CloudWatch logging in production
Full execution logs can double your costs at $0.50/GB ingested. Use ERROR-level logging in production and enable detailed logs only when debugging specific issues.
Implement request batching to reduce call volume
Combine multiple operations into single API calls when possible. Batch processing reduces request count, which is how API Gateway charges. Can reduce costs by 50-70% for batch-friendly workloads.
Set throttling limits to prevent cost spikes
Configure per-client throttling and burst limits to prevent unexpected traffic spikes from third-party integrations or DoS attacks. Protects both your API Gateway and backend infrastructure costs.
Deploy in the lowest-priced regions when latency allows
Only US East (N. Virginia, Ohio) and US West (Oregon) charge base rates on every API type. HTTP APIs cost 6% to 59% more elsewhere, so check your API type's rate per region and use CloudFront for global distribution when sub-100ms latency isn't critical.
Close idle WebSocket connections promptly
WebSocket charges connection time even with zero message traffic. Implement heartbeat timeouts (5-10 minutes) to close inactive connections. Can reduce costs by 60-80% for apps with sporadic usage.
Use compression for large response payloads
Data transfer costs $0.09/GB. Enable gzip compression in API Gateway to reduce payload sizes by 70-90%. Particularly important for endpoints returning large JSON arrays or documents.
Leverage the legacy 12-month free tier (accounts before Jul 15, 2025)
If your AWS account was created before July 15, 2025, use its 1M requests/month legacy free tier for dev/staging environments during the first 12 months, worth up to $42 a year at REST rates on non-production workloads. Accounts created on or after that date don't get this tier and instead draw down up to $200 in AWS credits before paying standard rates.
Consider CloudFront caching for GET requests
CloudFront caching is often cheaper than API Gateway caching for cacheable content. CloudFront's price-per-request is lower, and you get global edge locations included.
Monitor API Gateway Costs by API Type and Region
Track API Gateway spending across REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs with CostGoat. Get alerts when regional pricing premiums accumulate, cache costs exceed backend savings, or WebSocket connection minutes spike from idle connections.
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Amazon API Gateway Pricing FAQ
Common questions about AWS API Gateway costs, free tier, and pricing optimization
AWS API Gateway pricing varies by API type. HTTP APIs cost $1.00 per million requests (cheapest), REST APIs cost $3.50 per million (more features), and WebSocket APIs cost $1.00 per million messages plus $0.25 per million connection minutes. Accounts created before July 15, 2025 get a legacy free tier of 1 million API calls per month for 12 months, plus 750K WebSocket connection minutes. Accounts created on or after that date don't get this per-service free tier; they receive up to $200 in AWS credits and then pay the standard rates above.
It depends on when your AWS account was created. Accounts opened before July 15, 2025 get a legacy free tier of 1 million API calls per month for 12 months across both REST and HTTP APIs, plus 1 million WebSocket messages and 750K WebSocket connection minutes. Accounts opened on or after July 15, 2025 do not get this per-service free tier; they receive up to $200 in AWS credits and then pay standard rates. Either way there are no minimum fees or upfront commitments, so you pay only for what you use.
To reduce AWS API Gateway costs: (1) Use HTTP APIs instead of REST APIs to save 71%, (2) enable caching for frequently accessed data to reduce request counts, (3) implement request batching to combine operations, (4) set throttling limits to prevent unexpected traffic spikes, and (5) optimize data transfer with compression and regional proximity.
Private REST APIs pay the same per-request rates as public REST APIs ($3.50 per million in US East) and have no data transfer out charges. You do pay AWS PrivateLink for the interface VPC endpoint. AWS's own example uses $0.01 per Availability Zone per hour plus $0.01 per GB processed, so 5 million calls through one AZ cost $17.50 in requests plus $7.36 in PrivateLink, or $24.86 a month.
In AWS API Gateway, HTTP APIs cost $1.00 per million requests while REST APIs cost $3.50 per million requests, making HTTP APIs 71% cheaper. REST APIs offer additional features like usage plans, API keys, request/response validation, and AWS WAF integration. Choose HTTP APIs for simple, cost-effective serverless workloads, and REST APIs when you need advanced API management features.
